No SIC objection to power station

An artist’s impression shows the huge scale of the proposed new power station.

Another major construction project has moved closer to development after councillors agreed not to object to the new £200 million power station at Lerwick’s Rova Head.

However, the news has sparked a warning that planning staff are being burdened with too much responsibility for large-scale developments given the “peppercorn fee” they are permitted to charge by the Scottish government.

As well as the power station, planning staff have also had to deal with the new gas plant at Total and a whole host of other developments. In total 60 applications have been submitted to the planning service in the last month, with plans for the new Anderson High School due to go in soon.

Mr Robertson would like to see a charging system introduced which was more in line with planning developments south of the border. He said the average fee for a major project in England was around a quarter of a million pounds.

Mr Robertson said the time had come for fees to be more commensurate with the level of work required by officials. That, he said, should keep fees charged to private house-builders down to the more reasonable £200-£300.

He told fellow committee members on Tuesday: “This planning service is sometimes criticised … But we manage some of the biggest projects in Scotland, and all for a peppercorn fee.

“We have the £800 million gas plant, and they have got to deal with all of the conditions in relation to that. Now there is the power station and, on top of that, the new Anderson High School.

“I attended the annual planning convener’s conference, and brought it up with them. The answer from them was ‘when you improve your overall planning performance, we’ll allow you to put up your fees’. But Shetland’s performance is extremely high.”

After the meeting Mr Robertson cited the Total gas plant at Sullom Voe as just one example of a major development that has required major work from limited numbers of planning staff.

He said: “That was a major project on a massive scale, involving environmental impact assessments, archaeology, environment, roads and everything else. I think the documents came in on a forklift.”

He added that documents relating to the Viking Energy windfarm had taken up an entire store at Grantfield.

“The planning staff have been extremely patient,” Mr Robertson said. “They are extremely dedicated and they never complain. Their staff have been cut back – they took a hit with staff reduction, in that they did not replace some who had left.

“On top of that, the planning department is completely reviewing the local development plan. That’s a massive document. The Scottish government are keeping their beady eye on it the whole time. That must be done within a certain timescale. The pressure had been phenomenal.”

But the planning committee agreed not to stand in the way of the plans designed to replace the town’s ageing power station, which was built in 1953.

Assuming there are no hold-ups, work on the new plant, penned for a 33-hectare site, should start by the end of the year. The construction period is expected to last 32 months and should employ up to 400 workers.

It will initially run on light fuel oil, but could convert to natural gas if pipes are laid down from the gas plant at Sullom Voe.

The new power station is part of Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution’s (SHEPD’s) integrated plan for Shetland which was submitted in July last year. The plan is in the process of being considered by energy regulator Ofgem.

SHEPD Shetland operations manager Darren Hitchin said: “We welcome the committee’s discussion of the proposed replacement power station near Rova Head and the decision to raise no objection.

“The final decision on planning consent rests with the Scottish ministers and we await their consideration of the application in due course.

“Since Shetland is not connected to the GB grid, it is important that we carefully consider all options in order to find the best solution for our customers. The submission of the planning application is part of that process.

“However, future arrangements for meeting the needs of customers in Shetland also require the approval of the energy regulator Ofgem.

“SHEPD submitted proposals for Shetland to Ofgem last year, which included our analysis on the proposed replacement power station, and we await their decision.”

About Ryan Taylor

Ryan Taylor has worked as a reporter since 1995, and has been at The Shetland Times since 2007, covering a wide variety of news topics. Before then he reported for other newspapers in the Highlands, where he was raised, and in Fife, where he began his career with DC Thomson. He also has experience in broadcast journalism with Grampian Television. He has lived in Shetland since 2002, where he harbours an unhealthy interest in old cars and motorbikes.

9 comments

Ali Inkster

February 25th, 2014 17:18

It still baffles me as to why the new power station is being built at all. Why when Total was in the planning was a power station to cover the whole of Shetland not included? The fuel conveniently will be coming ashore there, we already get a fair chunk of our power from up north and I can’t believe it would cost that much to upgrade the lines to take the lot from up there. It would create more jobs outside Lerwick and help keep numbers at Brae school up. Also the greatest source of tidal power Yell sound is right next to it and any future renewable developments could be tied in to the power grid with ease. We could even have worked a deal on prices helping alleviate fuel poverty in the isles.

In full agreement with you Ali, it’s a piece of nonsense to be building another diesel powered power station near Lerwick when Total are building a plant which will import gas from west of Shetland ( probably for the next 50 years). Gas generation,as I understand , is also the most suitable type of base load generation to compliment renewable energy input. I also believe some of the profits from the new gas plant should be keeping rural schools solvent.

So senseless,”It will initially run on light fuel oil, but could convert to natural gas if pipes are laid down from the gas plant at Sullom Voe.”. Now why on the earth place it close to Lerwick. Would not close to Sullom be more cost effective, a power cable costs a lot less than a pipeline. These SSE planers take stupidity to a new level, closely followed by those whom approve such follies.

I agree with you Ali………It makes no economical sense for SSE to be building a new power station just outside Lerwick when present day resources could easily cope with present and future demands.

It is not only the fuel aspect coming to the power station at Sullom, but also, I believe, the power station at Sullom, if it isn’t already (I would appreciate if any of the readers could verify this) using the waste gas as a source of energy for the power station? Although some of this waste gas is still being burnt off at the flare stack?

Surely in this day and age of energy conservation, using the power at Sullom Voe would make far better economic sense than what SSE are proposing? The infrastructure is, moreorless, already in place, and it would not take much more to adapt or design a system where the existing power station at Lerwick could utilize the same resources as Sullom Voe?

Davie, I spoke about a similar project years ago, why could they not use the waste oil and gas that BP flare off daily, and either Tanker it by road or pipe it to the incinerator, as at this time the Incinerator is having to import from the Mainland of Scotland and I believe Orkney. When they don’t have enough to burn they turn to fuel oil which is imported and must be costly to burn, as most people with District Heating are noticing the price has become as costly as any other means of heating your home.

I asked SSE represantatives at one of the exhibitions to do with the new power station and they told me that it would be extremely expensive to relocate the power station to Sullom Voe. In addition Shetland’s geography means that Lerwick’s central position makes it easier to distribute power without having to have lenghtly duplicate power cables.

“lenghtly duplicate power cables.” are a lot cheaper than a lengthy gas pipe. Someone has there head where the sun does not shine, how typical of SSE.! As for the carbon signature of shifting half a hill, truly must be something I am missing, who is earning here?

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